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LEfl. 1st c. CE
Person · Historicity disputed

Luke the Evangelist

Traditional author of the Gospel of Luke and Acts

Traditional works
Gospel of Luke; Acts of the Apostles
Tradition
Gentile physician, companion of Paul
Mentioned in
Colossians 4:14, Philemon 24, 2 Timothy 4:11
Notable passage
Genealogy of Jesus, Luke 3:23–38

Companion of Paul traditionally credited with the Gospel of Luke and Acts, whose genealogy of Jesus includes the Septuagint's extra Cainan.

What is Luke the Evangelist known for?

Luke is named in Paul's letters as a companion and, in Colossians, as 'the beloved physician.' From the second century, Christian tradition credited him with the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, two volumes addressed to the same patron, Theophilus. Both works are anonymous; most scholars accept a single author, but whether that author was Paul's companion is debated.

He is often called the most literary of the New Testament writers. Acts supplies several episodes the site discusses, including the ascension of Jesus, Philip's removal to Azotus, and Paul's vision on the road to Damascus.

Luke 3:23–38 traces Jesus back through 77 generations to Adam and God. Between Arphaxad and Shelah it includes a Cainan who is absent from the Hebrew text of Genesis 11 but present in the Greek Septuagint. The Book of Jubilees gives this Cainan a story: he finds and copies the Watchers' star lore. Some scholars, including Richard Bauckham, have also noted that Luke's list puts Enoch seventh and Jesus roughly at the end of the seventy generations of 1 Enoch 10.

Why it is on Credible Theories

His genealogy of Jesus preserves the missing patriarch Cainan, and his Acts records ascensions and sudden removals.

Mentioned on these pages

Sources

  1. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Saint Luke'Reference
  2. Luke 3 (KJV), Bible GatewayPrimary text

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